


Falling Asleep On a Stranger

by ashisverymuchonfire



Category: Bandom, Pierce the Veil, Sleeping With Sirens
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, Break Up, M/M, Strangers, kellic - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-30
Updated: 2015-05-30
Packaged: 2018-04-01 23:41:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4039066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashisverymuchonfire/pseuds/ashisverymuchonfire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vic's boyfriend breaks up with him at a nightclub. A stranger named Kellin helps him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Falling Asleep On a Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> Kellic one-shot. Possible trigger warning at some points (nobody dies, don't worry).

“So, what’s the place called that you’re bringing me to this time?”  
  
Jaime parks the car in the nearest space. “It’s called Killing It.”  
  
I raise my eyebrows. “Killing It? Killing what?”  
  
"Nobody knows." He smiles at my skeptical expression. "Don’t worry, Vic. This’ll be a night you’ll remember. I promise."  
  
The dance floor is already pretty full when we enter the nightclub. Though I’ve never been to it before, it doesn’t look much different from all the others. I never really had someone to go to nightclubs with before Jaime and I started dating, and I don’t like going alone.  
  
We grab two barstools, and Jaime orders himself a drink. “You sure you don’t want one?” he asks me.  
  
"Nah, I’m fine," I say. "I’m planning to stay sober tonight."  
  
"Suit yourself."  
  
The music is blaring, so loud I can actually feel it. Observing the other people here, I notice that quite a few keep glancing my way. I turn to Jaime. “Is it just me, or is everyone looking at us?”  
  
"Not us. Just you. Everyone else here is a regular. They’re all checking out the new guy."  
  
"Oh." The longer I watch, the less intimidating their stares are. They mostly just seem curious now, but I still can’t help feeling in the spotlight.  
  
"So, listen, Vic." Jaime sets his empty glass down on the counter.  
  
I stiffen at the serious tone of his voice. “What is it?”  
  
He sighs and looks down in an attempt to gather his words. “Vic,” he says. “Look, Vic, this…just isn’t working out.”  
  
My breath catches, but I tell myself I just heard him wrong. “This isn’t working out?” I repeat, to clarify.  
  
Jaime nods. His eyes meet mine for a split second before he focuses his gaze somewhere else. Anywhere else but on me. “Look, I don’t mean to hurt you. It’s not you, it’s just…” Now he’s really stumbling. He’s trying to let me down easy.  
  
I can’t believe we’re having this conversation right now. At the same time, though, I guess I should’ve known.  
  
"Spit it out, Jaime," I say. "You don’t have to keep secrets from me. You should know that."  
  
He sighs again. “Fine. Vic, this never meant anything to me. You never meant anything to me.”  
  
 _I take it back. Keep those secrets from me. Keep me ignorant._  
  
Jaime gets up off of the barstool. “It’s over, Vic. I’m not doing this anymore.”  
  
And with that, my ex-boyfriend walks right out of the club. Right out of my life.  
  
I can’t stop staring after him. Other people walk in and out of the front doors, but Jaime doesn’t reappear. Of course not.  
  
 _So much for staying sober._  
  
I turn to the countertop and ask the bartender for a drink. “Anything,” I tell him. “I don’t care what it is. I just need something.”  
  
The bartender nods like he understands. Before I know it, there’s a full glass sitting in front of me. I pull out my wallet and start to hand him some money, but he shakes his head. “This one is on me. You look like you need it, kid.”  
  
"Wow. Really?"  
  
"Really. I’ve seen that look before. The lost puppy look."  
  
I bite my lip. Is it that obvious?  
  
"Thank you," I say. "Thank you so much."  
  
"No problem."  
  
With the glass in my hand, I keep scanning the crowd, stupidly hoping that Jaime will come back and tell me it was all a practical joke. We’ll laugh about how I completely fell for it, and I’ll realize how gullible I am, but I won’t care all that much because I’ll just be so glad that he’s still mine.  
  
Right?  
  
"Kid." I hear the bartender’s voice behind me and glance over my shoulder. He’s leaning against the counter, shaking his head. "Kid, I don’t think he’s coming back."  
  
I take another swig of my drink. “I know.”  
  
But  _why_? Why isn’t he coming back? Why did he leave me in the first place?  
  
I met Jaime a few months ago. At first it was only friendship, but quickly escalated into something more. I guess we’d sort of fallen in love. Or, at least, I had. Maybe it was a short amount of time to be in a relationship for some people, but I took it seriously. I trusted him.  
  
Jaime promised me that tonight would be a night I’d remember. Was this what he’d meant?  
  
I think back to every single moment we shared. Every secret look. Every kiss. I’d assumed they’d all meant something to him. I know they did to me.  
  
But Jaime stated it plainly. I’m not anything to him. I never was.  
  
My grip tightens on the glass until my knuckles turn white. Why the hell had he pretended, then? Why did he waste his time?  
  
Then, like a bullet, it hits me, and with absolute certainty I know that I’ve never in my life felt more stupid than I do right now.  
  
Sex. Of course.  _Duh_ , Vic. That’s what everyone wants. It’s like a drama, a soap opera. The love interest puts up a charade just long enough to get in the main character’s pants before dumping him and breaking his heart.  
  
And that’s exactly what happened. Because twenty-four hours ago, Jaime and I were doing it for the first time. And this morning, the morning after, he told me it not only met his expectations, but succeeded them. He told me it was the best time he’d ever had. He acted like he meant it, too. Who knows? Maybe he did. Maybe that, along with tonight, was the only time he’d ever been honest with me.  
  
Was it worth playing my true love for two or three months? I guess so, because when he told me goodbye and walked away, I saw no regret in his expression.  
  
Suddenly I need to get out. I can’t breathe in here, can’t keep watching the world go on without waiting for me. I hop off of the barstool and shove my way through crowds of people. I don’t care if I’m being rude and I don’t care if someone drops something because of me. I push the front door open and turn to the right, around the side of the club where I can’t be seen.  
  
It’s storming outside. Thunder and lightning is constant, and within seconds I’m soaked through my clothes. At this moment, I realize I brought my drink out with me. There’s no more alcohol in it, but it’s filling up with rainwater.  
  
My hands are shaking, and without thinking, I throw the glass to the ground, smashing it and screaming. “Fuck! Fuck you!”  
  
Some of the broken pieces have gotten stuck in my arm. The blood is already welling up, but I barely feel it. I can’t think about anything but the physical pain in my chest from what Jaime did. I might be to the point of hysteria, but I can’t even tell anymore.  
  
"I’m sorry, Jaime!" I yell. "I’m sorry."  _I’m sorry for not being the type of guy you’d actually fall for,_  I add inside my head.  _I’m sorry I got so attached to you. I’m sorry my stupid emotions got me into this mess._  
  
"Hey!"  
  
An unfamiliar voice snaps me out of my thoughts. A silhouette is running towards me from the front of the building. As it gets closer, I can see that it’s a guy about my age. “Hey,” he says again, slightly quieter. “Need help?”  
  
I just stare at him, confused. “Who are you?”  
  
The guy holds his hand out. “My name’s Kellin.”  
  
Slowly, I take it in mine and shake it. “I’m Vic.”  
  
"Vic." He nods. "Listen, I just felt like I needed to do something. After, well, what happened back there." He points over his shoulder.  
  
I take a step back. “Wait—you saw that?”  
  
Kellin makes a face. “Dude, I think everyone saw.”  
  
This surprises me. “Everyone?”  
  
"Well, not everyone, but most people. Though that’s probably because you’re new here. If you were a regular, I don’t think anyone would’ve given a shit."  
  
"I don’t think anyone except you and that bartender guy gave a shit anyways."  
  
"Good point." He sits down on the curb and pats the spot next to him. "Tell me what happened."  
  
I stay standing. “But you’re getting soaked out here.”  
  
He laughs. “I think it’s funny how you’re worried about me getting wet, but you don’t even notice the fucking  _glass in your arm_.”  
  
I hold up my arm. “Oh, yeah.” Wincing, I begin to pull the shards out. “Well, my boyfriend broke up with me.”  
  
For a moment he’s silent. “Sorry if it’s anticlimactic,” I say. “Or if you hate gays.”  
  
He looks at me over his shoulder. “I don’t hate gays,” he replies. “I don’t think it’s anticlimactic, either. Your boyfriend broke up with you, and he meant a lot to you. I get that.”  
  
I raise my eyebrows. “You do?”  
  
"Of course I do. Believe me." He stands back up. "So, how about this storm, huh?"  
  
As if on cue, a huge lightning bolt lights up the sky with a crack of thunder right on its heels. “That one’s close,” I say. “Do you want to go back inside or something?”  
  
"Yeah. But the real question is, do you want to go inside?”  
  
I take a deep breath. “Yeah. I’ll go back inside. Just for a little while.”  
  
Kellin leads the way back around to the front entrance. I stare at the glowing blue Killing It sign. “Oh, you’re killing it, alright,” I tell it. “Killing  _me_.”  
  
Kellin watches me sympathetically without saying a word. Finally he asks, “You okay?”  
  
"Yeah," I lie. "I’m fine."  
  
He keeps watching me, his eyes locking with mine. “You sure?”  
  
I want to look away, but I can’t. His gaze is trapping me. I sigh. “Fine. I’m not okay. And even if you try to help, Kellin, I don’t think it’s going to do much good.” I smile weakly. “But you can sure as hell try.”  
  
"Okay then. I’ll try." He looks like he wants to say something else, but instead he pushes the door open, and we head back into the nightclub.  
  
It seems even more crowded than before. A whole bunch of people glance our way, just like when I first walked in. “Ignore them,” Kellin says. “I’m going to go get us drinks. What do you want?”  
  
"I don’t care. Just something." It’s the same thing I told the bartender, because honestly, I don’t want it for the taste. I want it for what it does to me, and Kellin knows this.  
  
I feel weird standing alone in the middle of the club, so I move to a darker corner where I can hide from prying eyes. A few minutes later, Kellin returns, a drink in each hand. Handing one to me, he says, “I just got us both the same thing. Ready to drown out some shitty memories?”  
  
"I’m more than ready." I grab a small table, and we both sit down.  
  
Kellin only has one drink, but I get two or three more with no sign of stopping. “Dude,” he says, “you’re gonna kill yourself if you keep doing that.” He actually sounds serious.  
  
"Fine, then," I reply. "Let me die."  
  
"Nope." He stands up suddenly, slamming his hands on the table. "Nope, nope, nope. No thinking like that. Get up." He grabs my arm and pulls me to my feet. "We’re going to the dance floor."  
  
"No," I whine. "I don’t dance."  
  
That’s sort of a lie, though. I did dance once. For Jaime.  
  
"You do now," Kellin insists. "Come on. Just for a little bit."  
  
"I don’t have a choice, do I?"  
  
"Absolutely not."  
  
There’s a local band playing and a large crowd surrounding the stage. Everyone is moving, and it isn’t long before Kellin and I get caught up in the motion. It’s effortless. Drunk as I am, even I can’t help but feel perfectly in synch, if not a little dazed. My head is in a bit of a fuzzy haze, but my body knows exactly what to do.  
  
This is exactly what happened the night I danced for Jaime. He liked these kinds of things and was always taking me out to places I’d never been to. We were at a nightclub, a different one, and a band was playing. Jaime begged me to dance with him, just one time, and finally I gave in. I loved the thrill, the sensation of being so close yet so free.  
  
I’m feeling that same sensation tonight. But it’s not Jaime’s body I’m pressed so close to; it’s Kellin’s. And the abrupt realization that I’ll never be that close to Jaime again is what kills me.  
  
I shake Kellin’s shoulder. “Kellin!”  
  
He whirls around, accidentally smacking my face with his sweat-soaked hair. “What?”  
  
"It’s too similar," I gasp. "I have to get out of here."  
  
"What? What’s too similar?"  
  
I wave my hand around. “This! Everything! I can’t do this!”  
  
Kellin grabs my arm. “Calm down! It’s gonna be okay.”  
  
"No!" I shake my head, trying to control my breathing, stop the memories. "No, it’s not."  
  
He leans in closer to me, forcing me to meet his eyes. “Listen, Vic,” he says through gritted teeth. “Whatever you’re thinking right now—erase that thought. Don’t think at all, if that’s what you need to do. It doesn’t seem like it right now, but you will be okay.”  
  
I take a deep breath and close my eyes. When I reopen them, he’s still staring at me intensely. Everything is starting to spin. “Kellin. I can’t do this.”  
  
He continues to stare at me for a few moments longer. Then, something in his face changes. I can see him making a decision. He takes a deep breath, too. “Okay.” He yanks me forward.  
  
"What are you—" I begin, crashing into his chest. He twists around and, still gripping my arm, leads me through the mass of people, pushing and shoving, ducking and zigzagging. He’s small and thin but somehow manages to maneuver us both out of the area and back to our table.  
  
"Okay," he repeats. "Okay."  
  
"I want to go home," I declare shakily.  
  
He nods. “Okay. Okay, okay, okay. We’ll go home. Okay.”  
  
As we’re heading for the door, I ask, “Why do you keep saying ‘okay’? I feel like you’re drunker than I am.”  
  
Kellin snorts. “I don’t even think ‘drunker’ is a word, dipshit.”  
  
"Of course it is. Drunk, drunker."  
  
"More drunk," he corrects.  
  
I hold my hands up. “Whatever, grammar Nazi.”  
  
We step outside, and the rain instantly pierces through us again. I stop in my tracks. “Shit.”  
  
Kellin stops with me. “What?”  
  
 _Why didn’t I realize this before?_  “The car.” Scanning the parking lot, I confirm my suspicions. It’s gone. “My boyfriend. He drove us here in his car. And then he left.”  
  
"Damn." He shakes his head. "He really did abandon you here, in more ways than one. What a jackass."  
  
I flinch. I can’t stand to hear him talking about Jaime like that. Even if maybe it is true.  
  
"I’ll drive you home," Kellin proclaims.  
  
"No, you don’t have to do that—"  
  
"Maybe not, but I’m going to. I’m not letting you walk home in the pouring rain."  
  
He heads for his car with me at his heels. I mutter, “It’s not like I haven’t done that before.”  
  
His pace falters very slightly, but he pretends like he didn’t hear me.  
  
When we reach the gray car, I say, “I want to drive.”  
  
He glances over his shoulder, eyebrows raised. “You serious? In case you haven’t noticed, you’re not exactly sober.”  
  
"Neither are you."  
  
"More than you are."  
  
"I don’t care. I’ll drive myself home. Then I don’t have to tell you the way."  
  
He sighs. “Okay, fine. Suit yourself.”  
  
Suit yourself. Jaime said those exact words to me earlier, when I told him I intended to stay sober. I laugh as I hop into the driver’s seat.  
  
"What?" Kellin says.  
  
"I told my boyfriend I was planning to stay sober tonight," I reply.  
  
He bursts into laughter, and despite the situation I’m in, so do I. I guess we’re both feeling a little crazy, at least right now, and letting it out in the form of hysterical giggles.  
  
"Oh my God," Kellin pants. "That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all week."  
  
Once we manage to calm ourselves down, I pull out of the parking lot. This car is similar to mine, so it doesn’t take long for me to get used to it. My house actually isn’t very far away, so it won’t take long for me to drive home and get out of Kellin’s hair.  
  
"Holy shit," he says. "Vic, look at your arm."  
  
I take a quick glimpse of it and automatically notice what he’s talking about. “It’s still bleeding and we never even realized it,” I say, focusing my attention back on the road. “I don’t even feel anything.”  
  
"How could we not have realized it?" Kellin asks, still in awe.  
  
"It didn’t really look that bad outside because the rain washed most of it off. And I guess the sweat or something did, too, while we were inside."  
  
"Don’t you want to fix it or anything?"  
  
I shrug. “Fuck it. I don’t really care anymore.”  
  
He shrugs, too. “Do what you want, I guess.”  
  
I turn onto the dark back roads through the woods that lead up to my house. It’s definitely secluded and a bit hard to get to, but I like it. About halfway through, the trees thin out into an open field. On the other side, the trees normally start up again and surround my house.  
  
But this time, there are no trees.  
  
 _Shit,_  I think.  _I must be really drunk if I can’t even see the damn trees. I can always see those trees._  
  
I don’t tell this to Kellin because I know that he’ll probably just say, “I knew I shouldn’t have let you drive.” But this is the right way. I know where I’m going. I do.  
  
When we reach the place where the trees are supposed to start, I see that there are actually a lot left; it’s just that their leaves are gone and quite a few of them have fallen down. “That’s suspicious.”  
  
Kellin straightens up a little. “What’s suspicious?”  
  
"Nothing," I say hastily. "It’s nothing."  
  
I make a left turn, expecting my familiar two-story home. But I can’t see anything there.  
  
I park the car, trying to peer out of the windshield. “Where the hell is my house?”  
  
Kellin stares at me almost condescendingly. “I don’t know, Vic. Where  _is_  your house?”  
  
"It should be right here. It’s always been right here. But now it’s not."  
  
"I should’ve just taken you back to my place and let you spend the night there."  
  
I open the car door. “I’m going to see what’s wrong.”  
  
It’s still storming. There’s a strange scent in the air, but I can’t recall what it is.  
  
I look back and find that Kellin has followed me out here. “So you cared to join me after all.”  
  
"I wanted to see what was up with this missing house." He wrinkles his nose. "Why does it smell like smoke out here?"  
  
That’s it. That’s the smell. Smoke.  
  
"Oh, shit." I run up to the exact spot where my house would be sitting, and sure enough, there are a whole bunch of things here. Houses don’t just disappear.  
  
Kellin follows me again. “What are you doing?”  
  
I kick at something. I don’t know what. “Kellin, my house isn’t gone. But at the same time, it is.”  
  
He also kicks at something. “You’re right,” he says. “It’s still here. It’s just unfixable. It’s not gone. It’s…”  
  
"Burned," I finish, gazing out at all the rubble I can hardly even see, all the pieces that used to make up my home.  
  
Letting out a yell, I grab something and throw it. “Damn it! Could it get any worse?”  
  
"You could be dead," Kellin suggests. I think he realizes immediately what my response will be.  
  
"That would be better," I say. "I think I’d like that."  
  
"Vic," he says. "You’re drunk. You’re disoriented. Don’t try to make a big decision right now. I’ll drive you back to my place and let you stay there. You can start to figure everything out in the morning. If you even remember it all in the morning."  
  
I take one last look at the remnants of my house. Shouldn’t I call someone, let someone know about this?  
  
Fuck it. I’ve had enough for one night. “Okay. I’ll go with you.”  
  
So back into the car we go, this time with Kellin at the wheel.  
  
"How did this even happen?" he asks.  
  
Lightning strikes somewhere to the right, and a few seconds later thunder accompanies it. As suddenly as the bolt itself, it hits me. “It must’ve been that,” I say. “The lightning. Remember that big bolt we noticed outside? It could’ve been that one. It was right in the direction of my house. Or it could’ve been another one before that, or after. And the fire was too big or spread too quickly for the rain to put it out.”  
  
He nods. “That could’ve been it. Probably was, because houses don’t just burn down. You know, Vic, maybe you’re not as drunk as you seem.”  
  
I kind of still am in a haze, though. It may or may not be alcohol-induced, but it’s like I can’t really get a grasp on what just happened. I’m having trouble believing what Kellin and I both just saw. I’m in denial, telling myself that lightning never struck my house and caught it on fire. And Jaime never broke up with me. Maybe Kellin doesn’t even exist; he’s just a part of my imagination. This is a dream. A nightmare.  
  
A few minutes later, we pull up into a driveway and hop out of the car. “Welcome to my house,” Kellin says as we walk inside, making a little hand gesture and turning on the lights. “You can sleep wherever. I don’t care. We’ll figure all this out in the morning.”  
  
I don’t pay attention to the furniture or the layout of the house or anything. I just kick my shoes off and crash on the couch. Kellin does, too.  
  
"Dude." He turns to me, eyes wide. His expression has changed, as if something has just occurred to him. "It just hit me. Your boyfriend broke up with you. Your house burned down."  
  
And as he says this, it becomes clear to me, too. This isn’t a dream. This is my reality. Jaime and my house are both gone.  
  
"I’m not gonna act like it’s not a big deal," Kellin continues. "Because, well, it is. Nobody even noticed the house and the fire because it was so secluded, and nobody even cared enough back at Killing It."  
  
"I know." I stand up with an ache in my chest and start to wander around. "I’m not dealing with it. I can’t. Help me die, Kellin."  
  
He doesn’t move from his spot on the couch, but I can see his entire body stiffen. “No. You can’t do that. You can’t give up now.”  
  
"You said it yourself. It’s a big deal. You know what? Fuck it all. I’m taking the easy way out. You’d be doing me and everyone else a favor."  
  
"Vic, you’re not thinking clearly. It isn’t over."  
  
"I don’t even have a job. My family doesn’t want anything to do with me. I’m a high-school dropout who has no idea what he wants to do with his life. And now I’ve lost everything but the clothes on my back."  
  
There’s a slight pause as he takes all of that in. “Vic, listen to me.”  
  
"No. That’s it. I’m done. I’m—"  
  
"Sit your ass back down on this couch, Victor!"  
  
He still hasn’t moved a muscle. He doesn’t need to. The tone of his voice says it all.  
  
I slowly turn around, taking one step forward. “How did you know my full name was Victor?”  
  
He raises his eyebrows. “Is it really? I was just guessing.”  
  
Reluctantly, I sit back down on the couch. “It’s just…it’s all so crazy. I walked into that nightclub, and I didn’t expect much to happen. And now I’m here, and I don’t have anything left.”  
  
He gives me a flimsy smile. “What, don’t I count as something?”  
  
I narrow my eyes. “What do you mean? I don’t have you.”  
  
"Yeah, you do. After everything that’s happened, it’s kind of too late for me to back out now, even if I wanted to."  
  
"Kellin, what are you talking about?"  
  
"Listen, Vic. Do you want a friend or not?"  
  
The straightforward question catches me off guard. Do I want a friend? Do I really want to drag someone else into this?  
  
I think about everything that’s happened tonight. I think about how much worse off I would’ve been if Kellin hadn’t decided to help me.  
  
"Yes," I say. "Yes, I do."  
  
There’s a moment of silence. “Hey,” he says. “Is your arm still bleeding?”  
  
I glance at it. “I think it’s all dried. Still don’t feel anything.”  
  
"You’ll probably be feeling it all in the morning."  
  
I groan. I don’t want to think about the morning.  
  
A wave of exhaustion overwhelms me. “I don’t care if it’s bleeding anyways. I’m going to sleep.”  
  
"Me too," he replies, yawning.  
  
"Wait," I whisper. "I just want to know. Why did you help me? Why’d you stick with me? Why’d you go to all that trouble? Seriously."  
  
He closes his eyes. “Because it was the thing to do, I guess,” he says, his voice growing quieter. “Because you’re a human with a purpose and I couldn’t let you throw that away. I’d gone out thinking I was just gonna have a little fun. But I saw you, and I saw everyone else just stand by and watch, and I couldn’t take that sitting down. So I stood up.”  
  
Within minutes, he’s knocked out right on the couch. We’re still in our dripping wet clothes, but I don’t think either of us care. I lean my head on his shoulder, too tired to find somewhere else to crash.  
  
Thoughts spin randomly in my head. One minute I’m wondering where I’m going to go. The next, I’m thinking of Jaime and asking myself where I went wrong with him. But finally the thoughts settle on Kellin, who took it upon himself to make sure I got through the night.  
  
"Thank you," I whisper, though I know he can’t hear me.  
  
With that, the world closes in around me. I am falling asleep on a stranger, but it feels like I’ve known him for years.


End file.
